Heavy Wings Grow Lighter
by Samandrielwasgood
Summary: Ever since they were kids Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak have been best friends. The two were almost inseparable. They never really wanted to be friends with anyone else. They were still close as ever when they got into their senior year. That is, until Castiel dies. But to Dean's surprise, he returns as a ghost and Dean is the only person who can see him.


Ever since they were kids Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak had been best friends. The two were almost inseparable. Their parents were best friends, so they would always go to each others houses, like normal kids. They never really wanted to be friends with anyone else. Their parents had tried to introduce them to other people, but they would didn't want to leave each other's only other person that they ever talked to was Dean's brother, Sam. He usually hung around them, even though he was a lot younger than them.

They especially stuck to each other in the tough times. When Dean's mother died, Castiel refused to let him be alone. Sometimes he would hold him for hours. No one ever thought anything of it since the two were only six then but Dean would hold Castiel once they were older too. It was when his older brother that he had looked up to had died. They never took death well. It always felt better whenever they were with each other.

Dean's father, John, started to get anxious about their friendship. He didn't want to let it go anywhere further. It wasn't like he would be angry if his son turned out to be gay. At least, that's what Dean thought. He knew his father wouldn't be angry for something as small as that. Dean wasn't gay. He wasn't in love with Castiel or anything. It was just the fact that Castiel was his best friend. He hated how his dad would always cut their time together short. Dean hated it. He was 17, he didn't need to be treated like a baby by his father. When it had to do with the girls he brought home, John didn't even care. He didn't watch them. It was only when Castiel was over that he kept an eye on them. Sometimes Dean would have to sneak out just so the two could spend time together.

The only time he didn't have to worry, was school. Since the two didn't have similar interests, they had separate classes. The only class they had together was English. They had to sit far from each other, because the teacher knew they would get distracted and talk for the entire period. They spent most of their time together during lunch. There were people who hung out with them, though Dean and Castiel didn't pay much attention to them.

"So, are you excited for your game tonight?" Castiel asked as he took a bite of his burger.  
"Hell yeah." Dean grinned. "Why wouldn't I be? It's the most important game of the year."  
"What about the championship? I thought that was the most important." Castiel asked, giving him a look.

"Well, this is the game that decides if we go to the championship or not." Dean chuckled. "Duh. Without this game, there would be no championship for us."

"I know you'll win this one. I have faith in you guys. You won last year." Castiel smiled.

"And the year before. Don't forget about that one." Dean reminded him. He stood up to go put his trash away. Castiel held up his empty tray to Dean expectantly.

"I hate you sometimes." Dean frowned, "You're too lazy to bring your own tray up."  
Castiel laughed, "Stop complaining. Most people would be flattered to help."

Dean stuck his tongue out at him and brought the trays up to the trash. He came back and looked at his phone, "We have 10 minutes left of lunch."

"Do you want to go the to library with me?" Castiel asked, "I have to return my books. Plus, it wouldn't be bad for you to be around books. You should pick one up some time and actually read. Spark Notes does not count as reading for English class."

Dean got back up, "Fine. But I'm not going to read or anything. You know I don't have the patience for that."

"You just want to live life too fast. Calm down." Castiel said seriously as they started to walk to the library, "You need to enjoy it a bit. It's always spending time with me, football, or fixing cars. Live a bit."

"Since when did you get all deep like that? I'm fine the way I am. What do you mean by live? I'm alive. I don't need you lecturing me." Dean frowned.

"I'm just saying. Have you ever even dated anyone?" Castiel asked, "All I know is you like to have sex with girls all the time. Aren't you sick of that? Don't you want to actually date someone?"

"I don't know; I just don't see the point of it." Dean shrugged. He opened the door of the library for Cas. "It'll either end with someone getting hurt or marriage. I can't tell which one is scarier."

Castiel put his books in the book return, "You're so negative." he said softly, "That should be the fun of a relationship. You'll actually like the person instead of being so down all the time. You should at least try."

"I don't know, Cas. That's for old people." He strolled through the library.

"I'm not picking out a book yet." Castiel walked over to him, "We don't have enough time. The bell is going to ring any time soon."

"I hate school." Dean grumbled. They walked out to get their stuff from the lunchroom. The bell rang just in time, and they went to their next class. The rest of the day was pretty boring for Dean. He didn't have any classes with Castiel anymore for the day, so he didn't talk a lot. Dean tried to be more social, but he really just hated people. He found most of them annoying. He felt like a lot of the people were idiots. Castiel always complained to him that it wasn't good for him to think like that. Dean didn't want to be friends with anyone else. He only wanted Castiel as a friend. No one else was good enough for him.

Once school ended, Dean went out to his car. He drove to school, so that he could bring Cas along with him. He sat in the drivers seat and waited for him.  
"Hey Dean. Sorry I'm a couple minutes later than usual." Castiel stepped inside the car, "I went to the library and got caught up."

"What book did you get?" Dean asked.

"Like you'd care." Castiel rolled his eyes.

Dean started the car, "I find it hilarious that you complain about me not having a life, yet you spend your entire life reading. Talk about wasting your whole life." Dean regretted his words as soon as he said them. He hadn't meant it.

Castiel stopped talking for a while. "I hate you sometimes." He laughed. "Now you know how I felt when you said that. And there's a difference; I don't rush. I spend my time reading because it's what I like to do. And I've had a girlfriend." He crossed his arms, "And you haven't."

"There's no way you've had a girlfriend." Dean started driving.

"What makes you so sure?" Castiel frowned.

"Because. I know you. You tell me everything. You would have told me if you had a girlfriend. I also know that you never leave your house, unless you're at mine." Dean chuckled. He could tell when Castiel was telling bullshit, and this was one of those times. No one knew Castiel better than Dean did. Dean wasn't afraid to call Castiel on his shit. He didn't like being lied to and if it was one thing that the two of them never did it was lie to each other.

"Fine. You caught me." Castiel frowned, "I mean, there's a person I'd want to date and all, but I don't want to tell...her...because I feel like she's going to be freaked out. I'm kind of the freak of the school."

"Oh, come on. Don't be afraid. The worst that can happen is rejection. I'm sure she'll like you."

Dean smiled, "You're actually a pretty likeable person, Cas." He glanced over at him.

"You really think that?" Castiel smiled, "Maybe I'll tell her tonight. I know she's going to be at the game." He looked at his hands.

"Good. You get her, Cas. Who is she, anyway?" Dean asked.

"I'd rather not tell you until I know for sure. I don't want you to make fun of me." Castiel said quietly.

"Oh, come on." Dean hated it when Castiel kept secrets like this. He did it whenever he had a crush. He never did anything about his crushes. The thing that made Dean so pissed off about it was that Castiel never told him who it was. This happened too many times for Dean to just continue to shrug it off.

"I said no, Dean. Just accept it. I'll tell you later. Are you going to drop me off at home, or am I going to be at your house until the game tonight?" Castiel asked.

"Either is fine with me. It'll only be for two hours, so you might as well go to my house. We can work on our homework tomorrow." Dean smiled, "You can sleep over. I'm sure my dad will let you."

"That sounds great." Castiel nodded. They pulled into Dean's driveway. There weren't any cars in the driveway.

"Unless." Dean got out of his car, "You're going to sleep over at your special lady's house." He smirked, "You never know what's going to happen tonight."

Castiel shook his head, "I'm pretty sure I won't be going over a girl's house tonight. I wouldn't want to have sex with her yet anyway. I'm not like you." He smiled and got out of the car, "I don't fuck a girl until I've find out we have a mutual liking."

"You've got quite the mouth today." Dean laughed. They usually teased each other like this. It was so natural for them, Dean didn't have time to be offended.

They both walked into the house. It was really calm without anyone there. Sam didn't get home until later since he had debate club after school. Dean ran into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Castiel followed behind him and sat next to him. Dean smiled and leaned next to Cas, "So. What do you wanna do before we have to go? We have a couple hours." He asked.

"I don't know." Castiel shrugged, "I was just going to draw if you brought me to my house."

"There's another thing. You're so artistic, but you never show me anything. We share everything but your drawings and your crushes." Dean sighed, "What? Do you only draw your crush?" He asked.

"No. I don't show anyone my drawings. It's nothing against you. I'm just horrible at drawing so no one needs to see it anyway." Castiel looked at his hands.

"Alright then. Do you want to watch a movie like we usually do?" Dean asked.

Castiel nodded, "Yeah. That sounds nice."

"Cool. You go pick it out, I'll make us popcorn." Dean walked into the kitchen. He put the popcorn in. He felt so awkward for some reason. Cas wasn't acting like he normally did. He never usually looked so nervous. It was probably because of what he was going to do later. Dean felt a little nervous too. Castiel didn't do too well when it came to feelings. Dean knew that Castiel would probably want Dean to hold him if he got rejected. He was a really sensitive guy, even if he hid it from most people. Dean didn't mind, though. He enjoyed Cas's company.

Two hours later, the movie was over. Dean yawned and looked at the clock, "Shit! I have to be there in five minutes. Come on. We gotta go. Can you drive? I have to change in the car."

"Oh...uh..alright." Castiel nodded, "You know I don't have my license though."

"Yeah, but you're in Drivers' Ed. You can drive. Come on." Dean grabbed his clothes from his bag and ran out the door. Castiel followed behind.

"Okay." Castiel sat in the car, "I can do this."

Dean smiled, "Just start driving, alright. I'd rather not be late to my game." He took his shirt off and went into his bag to get out his gear.

"Don't you usually just change in the locker room?" Castiel asked, stammering a little bit.

"Well, yeah. But I just need to be safe." He replied. Castiel started driving slowly. He was careful to do it right.

"You know what? Get out. It's been two minutes and we're not even out of the freaking driveway. I'll drive." Dean sighed.

"But you don't have pants on." Castiel noted.

"So? I can drive naked if I have to." Dean laughed. The two exchanged seats, and Dean started to drive to the school. They arrived in about 5 minutes. He quickly pulled his pants on and ran into the school to get to the locker room.

"You're here just in time, Winchester. Get ready quickly. You have around 2 minutes before the game starts." The coach said to him. Dean nodded in response and quickly got ready for the game.

The game went by quickly. It always did for Dean. Football was his passion, so the time flew by whenever he was playing. He wanted to go into the big leagues once he was older, but he knew that it was impossible. That's why he went along with mechanics. He knew it was something he could do for a living. People always told Dean that if he made his passion his career that he would end up hating it. It was safe for him to just be a mechanic for the rest of his life. He enjoyed that too, so it wasn't a loss.

Once the game was done, Dean dressed back into his normal clothes and ran out to his car to meet up with Cas, who was sitting on the hood of the car, waiting for him. Dean smiled and sat next to him. Dean nudged his shoulder. "So. How did you like the game? Wasn't it awesome?" He boasted.

"You were amazing." Cas smiled, "I'm not surprised though. You guys always win. You're almost unbeatable. They're lucky to have you as their quarterback. They'd probably lose without you."

Dean laughed, "How flattering. So. Did you meet up with your girl?" he asked, "Did she say yes?"

Castiel shook his head, "No. I was planning on telling her in a couple minutes. Do you want to come with me for moral support?"

Dean nodded in response, "I can't promise that I'll be quiet. I'll be all up in this girl's face. I'll make her like you. And if she disagrees...then I can blackmail her." He grinned.  
Castiel smiled and got off the hood, "I really hate you sometimes." He laughed. He started to walk across the parking lot to get to the lawn on the other side. Dean got off the hood too and started to follow him.

"Shit! Cas, watch out!" He screamed as he saw a car speeding through the parking lot in his direction. He saw Cas turn around as the car slammed right into him.


End file.
